Setting Forth in a New Direction
by LadyDeb1970
Summary: Sequel to 'Captain's Orders.' He helped to save millions of lives when he chose to listen to Captain America. Now that technician is being given a chance to save even more lives with an unexpected job offer. (Spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and vague-ish spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron)


Disclaimer: Nick Fury, Sharon Carter, SHIELD, HYDRA, Steve Rogers, our still-nameless tech, and anyone else you might recognize do not belong to me. In fact, the only individual who does belong to me is Eleanor. Everyone else belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios.

Author's Notes: So, I went to see _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ on Saturday, and I'm still processing my thoughts. But there was one thing that refused to leave me alone … the young tech who babbled nervously about getting the people on board the lifeboats and getting them to safety on the helicarrier. Now, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I really think that's the same tech who told Rumlow, ' _captain's orders_ ' in _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_. I've talked to a few other people, who are thinking the same thing, and you know what that means? A sequel to _Captain's Orders_. So, in honor of brave, ordinary people who do the right thing no matter how terrified they are, I give you _Setting Forth in a New Direction_ (and thank you to my dear writing brother for his assistance in coming up with a suitable title). I'm not entirely sure how much time has passed between _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ and _Avengers: The Age of Ultron_ , but I'm going with the idea that it's been just a few months.

Setting Forth In a New Direction

Washington, DC

A few weeks after the events of _'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'_

A dead man was sitting in my living room.

A dead man was sitting in my living room, and somehow, I wasn't all that surprised. Not after everything that happened during the last few months. SHIELD had lied to me, to all of us, about Captain Rogers … I really shouldn't have been surprised that they lied about Colonel Fury, either. Because it was the director of SHIELD himself who was sitting on my sofa, making himself very much at home, thank you very much.

Or maybe it was Colonel Fury who lied about being dead. That was also a distinct possibility. If I'd learned anything over the last few weeks, it was that very few things were as they seemed. Even Eleanor, the wonderful therapist who wasn't a therapist, fell into that category. I'd heard her mention something about seeing Lincoln's casket after his assassination … in 1865. Back before I started working for SHIELD, I would have said that it was impossible and that she was delusional. Of course, that would have also been before Captain Rogers was dug out of the ice, alive, after nearly seventy years. My idea of impossible has undergone massive overhauls in the last few months.

Which brings me right back to the dead man sitting in my living room, on my sofa. I'd just returned home after an interview I wasn't feeling particularly good about. Eleanor was to suggest later that I was applying for the wrong kinds of jobs, and she's probably right. She usually is. On this particular day, maybe three weeks after the fall of SHIELD, three weeks after my nightmares began, three weeks after I told a man fully capable of splattering my brains all over my computer ' _no_ ,' I returned to my place wanting only to sleep for a week. Of course, things are never that easy … especially not when you're a former employee of SHIELD, and not for the first time, I wished that I took Sharon Carter up on her offer to talk to Maria Hill on my behalf at Stark Industries.

"You really need better security. Didn't take me long at all to get in here, kid," Director Nicholas Fury observed from his position on my sofa. I am not even remotely embarrassed to admit that I squeaked when I saw him. Yes, I really did squeak. It wasn't a yelp, though I know that sounds far more manly. He rose to his full height, observing, "Well, that's promising … you're not blathering on about how I'm supposed to be dead." It may surprise you, but when I'm nervous (not due to having a gun held to my head), I get sarcastic … and even snarky at times. I'm not nearly as good at it as Tony Stark (then again, no one is).

Which is why I promptly retorted, "Let's see … I worked for an agency that was a cover for our worst enemies, I told a bad-ass operative exactly where he could stick his orders while he had his gun to my head, and oh, my former agency located and defrosted a man who was literally on ice for nearly seventy years. Finding out that my formerly-dead boss is very much alive is kinda blasé after all that." As soon as the words were out, I wanted to clap both hands over my mouth, because oh, yes, I just sassed Nick Fury.

But instead of being angry, he actually looked amused, observing, "Well, you do have balls, I'll give you that, son. How's the job hunt going?" I gave him my best baleful glare that I could summon at that point … which wasn't very baleful, as I was still just a touch freaked out … and headed into the kitchen to either pour myself a drink or get something to eat. At that point, I wasn't at all picky about which it was. It shouldn't have surprised me when Director Fury followed me into the kitchen.

"About how you'd imagine … or, not imagine in your case. We used to joke that you had eyes in the back of your head. Actually, it was probably more like, Agent Hill was the eyes in the back of your head. My point is, you probably already know how the job hunt is going. Or, more to the point, isn't going," I retorted, and I realized at that point that my exhaustion and frustration had just about killed my brain to mouth filter. Oddly enough, it only started happening in the last few weeks, when I told Agent Brock Rumlow, 'captain's orders.' Hmm. I'd have to think about that later. And once more, Fury looked more amused than anything else.

"I do. That's why I'm here … to offer you a job," Directory Fury told me. My jaw dropped open and I stared at him in shock. SHIELD was gone. Technically speaking, Fury wasn't even a Director any more, but … He continued, "SHIELD may be gone, but you know what they say about HYDRA. Cut off one head, two more grow back in its place. HYDRA is still out there, and this is just a set-back for them. I need good people I can count on. You've already demonstrated that you have all the qualities I know. You're smart, you're strong, you're brave, and you're loyal."

Yeah, those were my eyebrows that just winged up into my hairline, because despite my numerous conversations with both Eleanor (which were now by phone, since she'd returned to the home in Nevada where she normally worked) and Sharon, I still didn't regard myself as brave. I said as much, telling Director Fury, "Uhm, in case Sharon … Agent 13 … didn't tell you, I rolled under the desk at my first opportunity. Yeah, I told Rumlow, 'no,' but she's the one actually did something about it."

"And she couldn't have done anything about it if not for you. You think rolling under the desk, out of the line of fire makes you a coward or worse? Wrong again. That action not only saved your life, but made Agent 13's job a helluva easier. You didn't have any combat experience … you being under the desk removed you from the line of fire and allowed Agent 13 to square off with Rumlow," Director Fury was quick to point out. Oh. I hadn't thought of it in that way (never mind that Eleanor told me about that during more than one conversation. What? It's different when Director Fury says so, okay?).

Fury went on when he saw me considering his words, "Regardless of what came after, you told a man with a gun, 'no,' when you didn't have a sidearm of your own. And don't tell me that you would have done things differently if someone other than Captain America warned you about HYDRA, because really, that says more about him than it does about you. Your actions that day, that took guts. And that's a man I want on my team. On any of my teams." Oh. Wait. How in the hell did he know I was going to tell him that I might not have taken those same actions, if it had been anyone other than Captain Rogers who told us that we were actually working for HYDRA? Uhm, well, this was Nick Fury we were discussing, after all. The man in question went on, "I won't have need of you right away, but I'm sending you to … friends of a friend. They'll look after you, and you'll keep your skills sharp. I've already wired money into your account." Thus proving (again) that my brain-to-mouth filter was completely kaput, I immediately protested.

"But I haven't done anything to earn it," was my rather ill-conceived observation. Now it was Fury's eyebrows that were elevating, a small smirk appearing on his face, and oh, when would my brain-to-mouth filter kick back in? Preferably before I further embarrassed myself, although that wasn't looking especially promising at the moment. Fury studied me for a few minutes, and I have absolutely no idea what he was looking for. And yes, I'll admit that I was fidgeting, as much as I wished I wasn't. However, whatever he was looking for, he seemed to find, because he gave a very small nod. Oookay, I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, however I was sure I would find out shortly. I was right.

"When you told Rumlow 'no,' you helped to save the lives of millions of people. How do you quantify that, son?" he asked very quietly. I suddenly had a very hard time breathing, because I couldn't answer him. Fury continued, "You've earned it. And you'll earn it again, because there will always be people who need help, because the world is still in danger from HYDRA. Maybe next time, you'll have the opportunity to save even more people. But for right now, I need you out of DC, for your own safety." It had been weeks since the fall of the Triskelion, but for the first time, I realized that my life could still be in danger. HYDRA didn't take too kindly to people who got in their way, and while I had no idea where Agent Rumlow was (last I heard, he was missing in action), he still had allies in the city. I suddenly felt very cold as I realized that Director Fury was right.

"Yes, sir. And you'll call me when you need me?" I asked. He nodded and started to leave. I have no idea what possessed me to say what came out of my mouth next, aside from my conversations with Sharon. I asked, "Captain Rogers … is he all right? I know he was injured when he took down the last one." I didn't know the exact details, but Sharon was worried about him. And that automatically had me worried as well. Captain Rogers could take care of himself … the man survived being put on ice, literally, for seventy years. But Sharon was worried, and so was I. Director Fury turned back to face me.

"He's recovering. Fighting HYDRA in his own way. That's all I can tell you, because the rest of it isn't my story to tell," Director Fury answered. I nodded slowly, because while I'd never met the man, it seemed like the Captain Rogers I heard so much about from so many people. I'm a tech, yeah, but I still hear stories from other people. And the prevailing them, regardless of who I spoke to, was that Captain Rogers wasn't just one of the 'Good Guys,' but was a truly good guy. Surprising me once again, Fury asked, "Would you like to meet him? I know for a fact that he would be honored to meet you." Wait, what? Me? Captain Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, would be honored to meet me? And how did Director Fury know that I'd never met Captain Rogers? Was it that damn brain-to-mouth filter again? Probably.

However, what I ended up saying was, "Yes, sir. Very, very much." Captain Rogers was my hero when I was a little boy, just as he was Agent Coulson's. See, my grandfather was among a group of men whom Captain Rogers rescued, and I heard the story of that daring rescue from the time I was old enough to remember. Fury offered me another one of those small smiles. He didn't say that he would see what he could do. He didn't have to, because I knew he would.

After calling Sharon and letting her know that I would be out of town for a while, but I had a job lined up, I met up with a young man named 'Jason' at Reagan National Airport. He would be flying me to my new home on the company jet (company jet?!), and where I would be for the next few months, until I got the call from Director Fury. I would be assisting with a humanitarian mission in the war-torn country of Sokovia (assisting the Avengers!), and not only that, but I would be serving aboard a helicarrier … one of the originals.

But that … well, that's a story for another time.

Fin

Additional Notes: Obviously, we don't know for sure that our tech actually worked for Nick Fury after the fall of the Triskelion. He could have been on loan, along with the older helicarrier (remember Fury mentioning it coming out of mothballs?), but this is one possibility. I also toyed with the idea of the tech challenging Fury, 'how do I know that I won't be working for HYDRA again?' But in the end, it just didn't fit. And yes, I do believe that despite the reassurance of both Sharon and Eleanor, he would still be struggling with the events of that day, especially with the notion that yes, he really is a hero. Now, he's at least willing to listen when people tell him that. Whether he's willing to acknowledge it or not, I think it likely that he would be suffering from PTSD as a result. Hope you've enjoyed my little offering, and I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that a meeting will take place between our captain and our tech eventually.


End file.
